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Keys to Success with Social Media Marketing

If done correctly, social media marketing offers many benefits to companies employing it. Human resources can use it to recruit employees, such as through LinkedIn’s job recruiting function. Sales can use it to enhance the reputation of their company. It also provides a way to internally communicate within a company.

The following are important keys to social media marketing:

PlanningBefore initiating a social media marketing program, take the time to carefully plan the effort. The plan should include goals, analysis of your market, definition of your target market, and plans for implementation of the plan. Implementation should include a clear understanding of who is responsible for all social media activities. In addition, metrics should be established for judging the effectiveness of your social media efforts.

Internal PoliciesGuidelines should be provided to all company employees regarding their activities referencing the company or company activities.

Complete ProfilesFill out a complete profile on all social media properties. Include such information as an “about us” section and geographic information.

Conversational EngagementUnlike traditional sales channels, social media marketing is entirely different. Traditional sales approaches can harm a company’s social media reputation. One of the best ways to approach social media is to consider it a conversation. Search for discussions about a topic relevant to your company and then add value to the discussion. By adding values, others will seek you out in many cases. Consider automating the search for relevant discussions. One simple way to do this is to set up a Google Alert. Google has an alert feature that will notify you of new information. The search can be set up for specific domain names.

Publish Constantly and ConsistentlyContent is king when it comes to marketing success on the internet. Write articles and posts consistently, and publish your content in numerous locations such as article directories and other blogs as a guest poster.

PromotePublishing alone is not an effective social media marketing strategy. Promote what you publish by submitting links pointing to your content. Use Digg, for example.

Avoid Common Social Marketing MistakesDon’t just focus just on the numbers, such as the number of people who follow you. The quality of the people who interact with you is important as well. Don’t spam others, such as contacting people on LinkedIn who you don’t know. Excessive spamming can get you banned from some sites. Don’t fail to claim your company name, such as on Twitter and YouTube. Set up accounts using that name.

Stay FocusedDon’t try to market your company on too many social media platforms unless you have a large staff. Pick one or two of the most appropriate platforms and put your efforts there.

Monitor and Respond to Reputation IssuesSet up systems to monitor your company’s reputation. Without reputation monitoring, the reputation of your company can quickly head downhill. When you find a reputation problem that is not grounded in reality, it is important to respond quickly and correct any misconceptions and inaccurate information.

Synergistic MarketingWhen it comes to social media marketing, make sure the marketing is integrated. Use platforms to cross promote each other.Make sure the way you promote and position your company is consistent. Include references to social media presences in other marketing related activities. For example, place links to important social media properties on your blog, website, and in offline marketing material such as business cards.

With the growth and importance of social media as a marketing tool, your company should become involved in this marketing channel. If you are already using social media, plan on an annual assessment of what you are doing and of the effectiveness of your social media activities.